Pediatrics Study Finds Children Taking ADHD Medications Did Not Suffer More Serious Heart Problems or Cardiovascular-related Death

WILMINGTON, Del., May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Children taking
medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder suffered no
more from serious heart problems or heart-related deaths than those
who were not taking ADHD medications, according to a study
published online today in the journal, Pediatrics.

The study, co-authored by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and HealthCore Inc.,
drew data from the largest population—241,417 children and
adolescents—studied to date to evaluate cardiovascular
problems and death associated with pediatric ADHD medication use.
The study also includes records involving both Medicaid and
commercially insured children.

Case reports of sudden death in children and adolescents treated
with these drugs have led some to worry they might increase the
risk of serious cardiovascular events. Previous studies have
shown conflicting results.

"We found low rates of cardiovascular events and of
cardiovascular-related deaths in those children and adolescents
receiving ADHD medications," said lead author Sean Hennessy, PharmD, PhD , an associate
professor of epidemiology at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "For kids who will benefit
from ADHD treatment, the potential risk of a cardiovascular event
should not dissuade parents or caregivers from giving a child or
adolescent these drugs."

The study found no significant increases in rates of sudden
death, heart attack and stroke in patients taking ADHD medications
compared to those not taking medications.

Researchers used data on children and adolescents from 3-17
years old from a five-state Medicaid database, as well as the
HealthCore Integrated Research Database™, which contains
historical and current medical and pharmacy claims data from more
than 44 million enrollees in Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans
across 14 states. The study identified patients ages 3-17 on ADHD
medications and tracked their health records during the period they
were on the medications.

"A key strength of this study is that the study data reflected
experiences of children and adolescents from a wide range of
demographic and economic backgrounds –those from families
receiving state Medicaid benefits and those from families with
private health insurance," said Gregory
Daniel, PhD, MPH , HealthCore vice president of government
and academic research. "We were also able to combine insurance
claims data with medical records to gain much more insight into
whether or not risks of severe cardiovascular events and related
mortality were elevated."

The study was based on Medicaid records from 1999-2003 and
HealthCore Integrated Research Database™ records from
2001-2006, well before a 2008 recommendation from the American
Heart Association that an electrocardiogram be performed before
starting any child or teenager on stimulant medications. The
study showed that the use of ECGs during this study period, before
the 2008 recommendation, were very low.

"It is interesting to note the lower incidence of
cardiac-related events, especially when you consider that very few
patients from this study were screened with an ECG prior to
initiating therapy," said Mark J.
Cziraky, PharmD, FAHA, HealthCore vice president of
industry sponsored research. "This would likely have
removed more patients with higher cardiac risks from the pool of
patients using ADHD medications, and would have potentially lowered
the rate further."

HealthCore, based in Wilmington,
Del., is the clinical outcomes research subsidiary of
WellPoint. HealthCore has a team of highly experienced
researchers including physicians, biostatisticians, pharmacists,
epidemiologists, health economists and other scientists who study
the real-world safety and effectiveness of drugs, medical devices
and care management interventions. HealthCore offers insight on how
to best use this data and communicates these findings to health
care decision-makers to support evidence-based medicine, product
development decisions, safety monitoring, coverage decisions,
process improvement and overall cost-effective health care. For
more information, go to www.healthcore.com.